Match Results

The Texas Longhorns swept through UTSA in three but the win did not come without a challenge, as the Roadrunners gave the #6 ranked team a run for their money. The match served as UTSA’s home opener to which they had a school-record 2,711 fans in attendance at the Convocation Center.

The Longhorns took a small lead in the first set of 11-7 and continued to build on this lead until they were ahead 19-11. UTSA made a small comeback in the set, but they fell too far behind to catch back up, losing the first 25-18.

The second set saw 17 ties throughout, with the last coming at 24. Texas went on a small run to start the match, leading 10-5, but the Roadrunners fought back to tie it up at 10 all. From there it was a back and forth battle, with tie occurring at almost every point up until the end. A Morgan Johnson and Yaazie Bedart-Ghani block put the Longhorns ahead 25-24 late with Bedart-Ghani closing out the set with a kill.

UTSA took the lead for the majority of the third set, staying about two to three points ahead until the Longhorns came back late to tied things up at 22 all. From there a UTSA attack error and a Micaya White and Chiaka Ogbogu kill finished off the match 25-22.

White led all scorers in the match with 17 kills while Lexi Sun came right behind with 13 kills and 11 digs for a double-double while Bedart-Ghani added another 11 kills. Setter Ashley Shook dished out 37 assists and 13 digs for a double-double while Cat McCoy picked up 14 digs.

Press Release

Three Longhorns recorded double-digit kills with a hitting percentage of .324 or above. Junior Yaasmeen Bedhart-Ghani led the team at a .556 clip on 11 kills, sophomore Micaya White hit .375 on a team-high 17, and freshman Lexi Sun finished with 13 kills, hitting .324.

Texas was paced by freshman Ashley Shook‘s team-leading 37 assists, who added 11 digs for a double-double. Senior Cat McCoy led Texas in digs, with 14.

Texas outblocked UTSA 14-2 as four Longhorns recorded five or more blocks. Senior Chiaka Ogbogu and junior Morgan Johnson led with six, while Bedhart-Ghani and White added five.

The home-team Roadrunners began the first set keeping pace with Texas’ scoring, as the two teams traded points. With the Longhorns’ defense absorbing UTSA’s opening attacks, Texas steadily grew an advantage of five points before a timeout from the Roadrunners at 13-8. Outblocking UTSA six to zero on the set and with White’s team-leading five kills pushing the advantage to as wide as eight points, Texas closed out the frame at 25-18.

Texas’ run continued into the second set as five-consecutive Texas kills from Sun fueled a 10-5 lead. But UTSA surged back, taking a 12-10 lead and pacing competitive rallies. With the lead changing hands six times and being tied 16 times as the teams exchanged points, it was the Roadrunners that edged to a set point at 24-23. But saved by a block from Johnson and White to tie at 24-24, the Longhorns secured the following points and the set, 26-24.

Texas was again playing from behind beginning the third set as a UTSA program-record 2,711 crowd cheered the Roadrunners to a five-point lead at 15-10. The gap remained five-points on a Texas timeout at 22-17, only for back-to-back kills from Bedart-Ghani to draw the Longhorns within two at 22-19. With Texas spurred to a scoring run, a towering block from White and Ogbogu secured a match point before a kill from Ogbogu herself sealed a three-set win.

Up next, Texas will open Big 12 Conference play with a road match against West Virginia on Saturday, Sept. 23. The match is set for noon CT in Morgantown, W.V.

On finishing sets against UTSA: I thought that the way that we responded and the way that we played, just thought that our energy levels, how we play the game, moving the ball was at a much higher level at the end of those games.

On what he’s learned about his team though non-conference play: It’s going to be a tough season. Everyone comes out for Texas and there’s no nights that we get off. So we’ve got to buckle down and be ok with being good for long periods of time. And I don’t feel like we have been great.

On fighting back to take sets through the match: It says a lot about the toughness of the whole team, we just need to play like that all the time. We just talked about that in the locker room, so it just runs so smoothly, everyone all doing their jobs. I’m really proud of the way that we fought back.

On readiness for Big 12 Conference play: We’ve been on the road a lot in some crazy environments. This was obviously a really good environment tonight, I think that they had their highest match capacity. It’s just a good way to test us over the season and it’s going to help us later on in the year.

Press Release

Courtesy of UTSA Athletics

UTSA dropped a three-set match (18-25, 24-26, 22-25) in its home opener to No. 6 Texas in front of a school-record 2,711 fans Tuesday night at the Convocation Center.

The Longhorns (8-2) hit .365 and posted 14 total blocks to hand the Roadrunners (2-10) the loss.

Micaya White led a trio of Texas players into double figures with 17 kills, while Lexi Sun logged a double-double of 13 winners and 11 digs. Yaazie Bedart-Ghani chipped in with 11 kills, while Ashley Shook handed out 37 assists and tallied 13 digs.

Beginning the match, UTSA and Texas traded points through competitive rallies inside a raucous Convocation Center. Taking the opening set’s first five-point lead at 13-8, drawing a Roadrunner timeout and again 17-10, the Longhorns absorbed the UTSA offense to claim the frame, 25-18.

Texas continued its momentum with a 10-5 advantage in the second set, but a persistent UTSA surged back as consecutive aces from Gonzales fueled a 7-0 run for the host. Pacing competitive rallies, the teams would decorate the remainder of the set with seven lead changes and 13 ties. With the score knotted at 23, a McCulloch kill would edge the Roadrunners to set point at 24-23, but consecutive kills from Bedart-Ghani would secure the following points and the set for Texas at 26-24.

Unyielding, UTSA set the pace in building a 15-10 lead in the third frame, but Texas again turned the tides with a decisive rally at the end of the set. With the score knotted at 22, the Longhorns used an 8-0 run to control the Roadrunners and finish the sweep.

Up next, UTSA will open Conference USA play with a road match against Southern Miss on Sunday, Sept. 24. The match is set for 1 p.m. CT in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

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About Carly DeMarque

Carly DeMarque has been involved with competitive volleyball for the majority of her life, playing competitively at the club and collegiate level for 15 years and coaching club for five.
Now a retired Division I volleyball athlete out of McNeese State University, she continues her volleyball enthusiasm by stepping back into …